MacTier’s Chris Lee wins Olympic bronze

MACTIER – They finally got it right.

Chris Lee’s place in the folklore of MacTier just went up a notch with his bronze medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in South Korea.

Canada’s men’s hockey team won Olympic bronze Saturday morning.

And commentators finally got it right, Chris Lee is from MacTier – not Parry Sound.

The west Muskoka native picked up the puck when the buzzer sounded in the 6-3 win over the Czech Republic.

Then he picked up the bronze medal from the IIHF president Roger Fassel.

Then the 37-year-old journeyman star defenceman posed for the coveted team photo at centre ice.

And the the MacTier arena exploded in cheers for their newest hometown star.

For over a week dozens of residents, relatives and sports fans of the KHL (Russian hockey league) player had gathered around a big screen TV for the ups and down of the PyeonChang Olympics in South Korea.

Morning and night.

Now comes the party planning for summer victory lap with the Olympic meda.

It’s not gold, but a medal wasn’t expected either after the NHL pulled out of the Games.

It was never a sure thing, as Canada let a 3-1 lead slip in their final game and the Czechs, who beat them 5-4 in overtime in round-robin, fought to the end matching goals.

Super fan and MacTier booster Dawn MacDonald, who had to miss Saturday morning’s party in her hometown, posted this comment after.

“Sorry to have missed the Game! Can’t express how proud I am of my community for the tremendous support to our hometown campaign to cheer on our own Chris Lee.

“A hard fought series that we should all be proud of. To Chris and his family, thank you for your support to KidSport. If you didn’t know about KidSport before the Olympics, you do now!!! We look forward to welcoming you home this summer to celebrate your Bronze medal win!

“The Lee and Blanchard families are very long standing community members who have contributed immensely to sport in MacTier. Through Chris’ support and all your donations we can continue to support the growth of sport in our town. Thank you so much.

“To all the incredible volunteers who came out to all the events, even if it meant a 4:30 a.m. start!!! We could not have done it without you. Thank you!

“I can honestly say I have never been more hometown proud. Thank you all.”